35 gallon malawi

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reptileguy2727

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 12, 2005
850
1
0
Northern Virginia
this is my 35 gallon malawi. technically my dad's, but since he doesnt stock, clean, water change, clean filters, and barely feeds, i count it as mine. it has an albino zebra and 3 yellow labs. im good with south american cichlids, but im not that good with africans and would like to use this tank to get some more experience with them. if any, how many more could i add? i like compressiceps, are those a good option? i know they will have to be about the same size, rearrange tank, etc.
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You really can't add anything...its already fully stocked. A 35gal is really a very small tank for Malawis, and anything else is just asking for problems. On top of that, I'll assume you mean A. comp's, which are a Lake Tang fish and don't mix well with the more aggressive and 'hyper active' mbuna you already have in the tank.
 
I agree for the tank size you are maxed. If you think of upgrading in size, here are my views. Altolamprologus compressiceps, as referred to by SinisterKisses, would be a bad mix with the Malawians. If you had a much bigger tank, then you could get away with Dimidiochromis compressiceps (aka Malawi Eyebiter...which is very inappropriate/outdated nicname). D. compressiceps would eventually outgrow your tank even if it was the only inhabitant. Any thoughts that equal size equates to equal aggression or compatability would be terribly wrong.
 
i always hear about overstocking to reduce aggression, but it doesnt seem that 4 is overstocking a 35. is the tanganyikan compressiceps more available? i thought they were from malawi, but i just double checked the book, and yes the one compressiceps i looked up is tanganyikan, i thought it was malawi. what about adding a large synodontis (not necessarily a large species, but an already large specimen)? any good algae eaters for a malawi tank? the brown algae in there is really bad.
 
I would also agree that your tank is pretty much full, but then again I am always adding stuff to my already full tanks, but I do have a few bigger tanks for backup. I think overstocking a tank is a personal preference thing, I am not going to reccommend it but just incase you do it on your own minus what we provide you. then if you were to add more fish you cant get anything that grows larger 5 inch or it will outgrow your tank. You also dont want to put non-agressive fish with those guys b/c they wont last long, so you pretty much stuck with what you have. I dont think a d.comps or any comps would work out well either and any comps that you got would eventually outgrow your tank. The two main reasons I wouldnt go with the comp is b/c they get roughly about a 1ft long give or take. Also well from my experience my d.comps likes to eat the scales off anything it see's that swims, which is a bit odd.. but not a good thing b/c I had to seperate him. Hope that helps.
 
im not worried about the comps, it was just the only thing that popped into my head that i know i would like.
 
but the problem is, it gets at least 12inches and it will be way to big for your tank, and they grow relativley fast. It wont have enough swimming room and wont be able to turn in that tank I am putting mine in a 125gal b/c it will have enough turning room and space in there.
 
i meant that im not worried about getting it, not that i dont care if it shouldnt go in there, i do, thats why im asking about these things now. i never really liked africans because it seems like all they do is kill eachother. im asking about them so i can learn how to do it right without them killing eachother, for myself and for my customers ( i work in a LFS).
 
ohhhh okay lol sorry!! Yah with the ones that you have now you can only really do a mbuna tank. Which is prob. why they seem like they always kill eachother they are some of the most agressive african cichlids out there! =) If you had a less agressive tank then you'd have alot more options.
 
I have two tanks of about the same size and have around 30 fish in each tank. 10-12 different mbuna species with a good mix of male and females. They are wild caughts and I should be getting some more in this weekend, 16+ to be exact and adding to my already stocked tanks. Will hopefully be able to put them into some bigger tanks soon. Presently have 3 females carrying and nets with 3-4 sets of fry hanging on the sides of these tanks. No problems experienced with serious aggression at all. In amounsgt this all I also have young fry swimming in the tanks. A true reflection of what the Lake condition, regarding fish numbers, is.
I would look to re-arranging your rocks to create a better cave set up. This is vital for the existence of these fish. I initially had my rocks running the length of the tank but then changed to a pile at each end. This put a stop to 1 more dominant male trying to control the entire reef. Their territory in the Lkae might extend to uo to 10ft around their nest, so the tank situation is small in comparison.
The species you have tend to be less aggressive than some of the others available. Look at putting in a sand fine coral grit mix as it seems as though they like to sift through this, especially after being fed. I had gravel initially in my one tank but found the sand easier to keep. Do regular weekly 20% water changes and you should not have too many problems.
Just remeber when you want to add new fish try to add at least 3-4 fish at a time. Adding in a single fish will almost certainly spell disaster for it.
Remember you get everybodies personal experience, all good, when you ask for advice. You need to sum it up and then try and see what works best for you.
Good luck with your endeavour.:naughty: :woot: :clap :headbang2 :thumbsup:
 
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